Portable garage

ABSTRACT

A portable garage is disclosed that has a tubular frame having a horizontal central roof ridge and two spaced parallel side edge members supported by a plurality of generally vertical legs. The frame is constructed of tubular sections and joint members that telescopically and removably connect together. A removable flexible sheet of preferably waterproof fabric material spans the roof ridge and extends over the side edge members of the frame and is fastened to the side edge members with a plurality of spaced buckle and strap fasteners that are secured to the roof material at a location spaced from the side edges of the sheet. The garage has removable fabric material side walls fastened to the frame, a rear end wall, and a front end wall fastened to the frame. The front end wall has a pair of spaced parallel vertical zippers defining a flap forming a roll up door. A pair of pulleys are spaced apart above the flap and fastened to the front end wall. A pair of cords passing over the pulleys and around a bottom end of the flap are used to raise and lower the roll up door.

BACKGROUND

1. Field

This disclosure relates to protective covers for vehicles and more particularly to a portable shelter for a vehicle from the sun and light rain.

2. General Background

Many awning type sun shades for vehicles have been developed, but these typically do not completely shield the vehicle while at the same time being fully collapsible and portable.

SUMMARY

The portable garage of the present disclosure comprises a tubular frame with a removable flexible roof, two opposing removable flexible side walls, a rear flexible end wall, and a front flexible end wall with a zipper closed roll-up door. The tubular frame is preferably made of metal or plastic tubular sections telescopically joined together. The roof, side walls and end walls are preferably made of a plastic fabric that is waterproof and resistant to ultraviolet radiation from the sun. Each side wall has a pair of flexible windows with cover flaps and a pair of mesh storage pocket panels.

DRAWINGS

The above-mentioned features and objects of the present disclosure will become more apparent with reference to the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings wherein like reference numerals denote like elements and in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the portable garage in accordance with one embodiment of the present disclosure showing the door in an open position.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the portable garage shown in FIG. 1 with the front end wall and one side wall removed.

FIG. 3 is an inside perspective view from the front end of the portable garage shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged view of one of the attachments of the roof to the frame of the portable garage shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 5 is an enlarged partial perspective view of a front end corner of the portable garage shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the portable garage shown in FIG. 1 with the door closed.

FIG. 7 is an exploded view of interlocking tubular sections in accordance with the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

A portable garage 100 in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown in a perspective view in FIGS. 1 through 3 and 6. The garage 100 has a tubular metal frame 102, a removable flexible roof 104, a pair of side walls 106, a rear end wall 108, and a front end wall 110.

The frame 102 as shown has six legs 103. The frame 102 is constructed with a series of straight tube sections 112 that telescopically fit together or within either T shaped corner joint members 114 or cross shaped intermediate joint members 116. Each of the tube sections 112 is preferably a coated thin wall steel tube. Each of the joint members 114 and 116 is preferably a coated thin wall steel tubular structure. Each joint member 114 has a curved tube portion 118 and a straight tube portion 120 welded to the curved tube portion 118. Each of the joint members 116 similarly has a curved tube portion 118 and has two straight tube portions 120 welded to the curved tube portion 118.

When the frame 102 is assembled together as is shown in FIG. 3, it forms a rectangular enclosure frame with a central roof ridge 122 and two parallel sidewall edge members 124 and generally vertical legs 103 extending downward from the edge members 124. The roof 104 is preferably fastened to the edge members 124 of the frame 102 via a strip of anchor fabric 126 and loop and ball fasteners 135 as shown in FIG. 4.

The strip of fabric 126 has an upper edge 130 sewn, heat welded, or otherwise fastened to the roof 104 and extends along the length of the roof 104 above the sidewall edge member 124. The strip of fabric 126 is preferably a polyethylene fabric that is heat welded to the roof 104. The strip 126 has a series of spaced grommets 128 along its length through which the loop end 133 of loop and ball fasteners 135 are passed. Each loop end 133 is then pulled around the edge member 124 as shown in FIG. 4 and stretched over the ball 137 of the fastener 135 to secure the strip 126 to the edge member 124.

Each side wall 106 is preferably removably fastened to the frame 102 similarly via elastic loop and ball fasteners 135 looped through grommets long the edges of the side wall 106 and around the adjacent frame edge members 124 and legs 103. The upper edge of each side wall 106 fits underneath the valence 134 so that the roof 104 can shed rain and the side walls 106 and end walls 108 and 110 may be selectively removed entirely leaving only the roof 104 in place on the frame 102, forming a simple canopy. Each end wall 108 and 110 is fastened to the frame 102 via elastic loop and ball fasteners 135.

The frame 102 is preferably anchored to the ground or other generally horizontal support surface via a plurality of anchor hooks 139 which each pass through a grommet 141 in the valence 134 and hook over the edge members 124 as shown in FIG. 2. A guy line 143 extends from the anchor hook 139 to a ground stake 145 which is preferably screwed into the ground to anchor the frame 102 in place.

Each side wall 106 has a pair of horizontally spaced transparent plastic windows 136. Each window 136 is covered on its exterior side by a portion of the side wall 106 defined by vertical and horizontal slits through the side wall 106 to form a flap 138 that can be rolled up to permit light into the enclosure of the garage 100. The flap 138 preferably may be held down or up via hook and loop fasteners. The flap 138 may be located so as to roll up along the exterior of the side wall or alternatively on the interior of the side wall 106. Optionally, an additional flap 138 may be provided on the opposing side of the window such that the window has both an inner and an outer rollup flap 138.

Each side wall 106 also preferably has at least a pair of spaced mesh pockets sewn, heat welded, or otherwise secured to the side walls 106 and/or the end wall 110. These pockets 140, preferably on the interior of the side wall 106, permit handy storage locations for various items such as vehicle washing materials etc.

Referring now specifically to FIGS. 1, 5 and 6, the front end wall of the garage 100 is shown. The front wall 108 has a zipper closed roll up door panel 142 shown in an open position in FIG. 1 and closed position in FIG. 6. Zippers 144 run from the top of the door 142 to the bottom edge of the garage 100. When the zippers 144 are unzipped, the door 142 may be raised by pulling on cords 146. One of the cords 146 passes through one pulley 148 and loops below the door 142 and back to the top of the panel 142. The other cord 146 passes through the same pulley 148 and through another pulley 148 adjacent the other edge of the door panel 142 before looping down around the bottom edge of the door panel 142 and back to the top of the door panel 142.

The bottom edge 150 of the door panel 142 is preferably stiffened and weighted so that the door panel 142 will naturally roll up when the cords 146 are pulled to raise the door panel 142. The bottom edge 150 of the door panel 142 is preferably folded over and sewn or otherwise fastened together to form a tubular passage through which a rod, dowel, or other elongated stiffener may be inserted for this purpose.

Although not shown in FIGS. 1-6, each of the legs 103 can be inserted into a flat disk shaped fitting for fastening to concrete or staked to the ground. The roof 104, sides 106 and ends 108 and 110 is preferably made of a plastic canvas or other fabric material. Alternatively a fabric such as a polyurethane coated rip-stop nylon may be used. The frame may alternatively be formed with plastic tubular pipe and the loop and ball fasteners 135 may be replaced with buckle/strap fasteners or straps having patches of hook and loop closure fabric secured thereto. Alternatively the fasteners 135 may be replaced with a strip of material having hooks on one surface of the strip and loops on the opposite surface such that when the strip is threaded through the grommets and the ends are overlapped around the edge members 124 or posts 103 the hooks engage the loops to hold the fasteners and thus the roof to the edge members 124.

Each of the legs 103 is preferably formed of a pair of identical tubular members 200 shown in FIG. 7, each having at one end a reduced diameter portion 202 and a dimple 204 in the opposite end of the tubular member 200. The reduced diameter portion 202 has an “L” shaped groove 206 in the surface with its long leg 208 extending axially from the open end of the tubular member 200. The dimple 204 is located at a position spaced from the opposite end and sized such that when the reduced diameter portion 202 of one member 200 is inserted fully into the opposite end of another tubular member 200, the joined members 200 may be oppositely twisted to cause the dimple to ride in the short leg 210 of the groove to axially interlock the two tubular members 200 together. Similarly, the portion of the corner members 114 and cross members 116 that receive the upper ends of the legs 103 have corresponding dimples 204 so that the legs 103 can be interlocked into the corresponding corner or cross members 114 and 116. Each section of the roof portion of the frame 102 is also preferably formed by two or more interlocking tubular members 200 as shown in FIG. 7. However, the corner and cross members that receive these sections 200 directed toward or forming the ridge preferably do not include dimples 204.

While the apparatus has been described in terms of what are presently considered to be the most practical and preferred embodiments, it is to be understood that the disclosure need not be limited to the disclosed embodiments. It is intended to cover various modifications and similar arrangements included within the spirit and scope of the claims, the scope of which should be accorded the broadest interpretation so as to encompass all such modifications and similar structures. The present disclosure includes any and all embodiments of the following claims. 

1. A portable garage comprising: a tubular frame having a horizontal central roof ridge and two spaced parallel side edge members supported by a plurality of generally vertical legs constructed of tubular sections and joint members removably connected together, wherein each of the side edge members and each of the vertical legs includes at least a pair of interlocking sections interlocked together; a roof spanning the roof ridge and side edge members of the frame; a pair of opposing side walls fastened to the frame; and a front end wall fastened to the frame having a pair of spaced parallel zippers defining a flap in the front end wall forming a roll up door.
 2. The portable garage according to claim 1 wherein the front end wall further comprises a pair of pulleys spaced apart above the flap and fastened to the front end wall and a pair of cords passing over the pulleys and around a bottom end of the flap for raising and lowering the roll up door.
 3. The portable garage according to claim 2 wherein the bottom end of the flap has a stiffener rod in a sleeve therein to stiffen the flap during raising and lowering of the roll up door.
 4. The portable garage according to claim 1 wherein the roof is a sheet of waterproof fabric having side edges and the roof is fastened to the side edge members with a plurality of spaced buckle and strap fasteners secured to the roof at a location spaced from the side edges of the sheet.
 5. The portable garage according to claim 3 wherein one of the cords passes through both pulleys and the other of the pair of cords passes through only one pulley.
 6. The portable garage according to claim 3 wherein each side wall is made of a waterproof sheet of fabric and has at least one flap of fabric covering a transparent window.
 7. The portable garage according to claim 3 wherein each side wall has a mesh storage pocket fastened to the side wall and at least one transparent window formed in the side wall, wherein a flap of the side wall forms a closable cover over the transparent window.
 8. The portable garage according to claim 4 wherein the side walls are fastened to the side edge members under the side edges of the roof.
 9. A portable garage comprising: a tubular frame having a horizontal central roof ridge and two spaced parallel side edge members supported by a plurality of generally vertical legs constructed of tubular sections and joint members removably connected together, wherein each of the side edge members, said roof ridge and each of the vertical legs includes at least a pair of interlocking sections interlocked together; a roof spanning the roof ridge and side edge members of the frame, wherein the roof is a sheet of waterproof fabric having side edges and the roof is fastened to the side edge members with a plurality of spaced buckle and strap fasteners secured to the roof at a location spaced from the side edges of the sheet; a pair of opposing side walls fastened to the frame; and a front end wall fastened to the frame having a pair of spaced parallel zippers defining a flap in the front end wall forming a roll up door, a pair of pulleys spaced apart above the flap fastened to the front end wall, and a pair of cords passing over the pulleys and around a bottom end of the flap for raising and lowering the roll up door.
 10. The portable garage according to claim 9 wherein each side wall is made of a waterproof sheet of fabric and has at least one flap of fabric covering a transparent window.
 11. The portable garage according to claim 9 wherein each side wall has a mesh storage pocket fastened to the side wall and at least one transparent window formed in the side wall, wherein a flap of the side wall forms a closable cover over the transparent window.
 12. The portable garage according to claim 10 wherein the side walls are fastened to the side edge members under the side edges of the roof.
 13. The portable garage according to claim 11 wherein the bottom end of the flap in the front end wall has a stiffener rod in a sleeve therein to stiffen the flap during raising and lowering of the roll up door.
 14. A portable garage comprising: a tubular frame having a horizontal central roof ridge and two spaced parallel side edge members supported by a plurality of generally vertical legs constructed of tubular sections and joint members removably connected together, wherein each of the side edge members and each of the vertical legs includes at least a pair of interlocking sections interlocked together; a roof spanning the roof ridge and side edge members of the frame, wherein the roof is a sheet of waterproof sheet material having side edges and the roof is fastened to the side edge members with a plurality of spaced buckle and strap fasteners secured to the roof at a location spaced from the side edges of the sheet; a pair of removable opposing side walls fastened to the side edge members of the frame under the side edges of the roof sheet; and a front end wall fastened to the frame under the roof sheet, the front end wall having a pair of spaced parallel zippers defining a flap in the front end wall forming a roll up door, a pair of pulleys spaced apart above the flap fastened to the front end wall, and a pair of cords passing over the pulleys and around a bottom end of the flap for raising and lowering the roll up door.
 15. The portable garage according to claim 14 further comprising each removable side wall having a pair of spaced plastic windows and at least one mesh storage pocket.
 16. The portable garage according to claim 15 wherein the bottom end of the flap in the front end wall has a sleeve retaining a stiffener rod therein to facilitate even rolling of the roll up door. 